Protector glove



PROTECTOR GLOVE 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Aug. 23, 1968y INVENTOR.

THOMAS cUL|NAN,Jr.

F /GZ Dec. 23, 1969 T. L. cuLLmAN, .1R 3,484,869

FROTECTOR GLOVE Filed Aug. 23, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United StatesPatent O 3,484,869 PROTECTOR GLOVE Thomas L. Cullinan, Jr., 109 AllenSt., Summerville, Ga. 30747 Filed Aug. 23, 1968` Ser. No. 754,799 Int.Cl. A41d 19/00 U.S. Cl. 2-161 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A glovehaving an area of its palm trank in the region between the crotches ofits finger stalls and the thumb stall formed into a sequence of smallresiliently yieldable folds extending substantially in a directionlengthwise of the glove. In a glove thus constructed the palm area ofthe glove adapts itself more readily to the changes in the width andconformation of the wearers palm that occur during manipulation of thewearers lingers, and the formation of large bulges is prevented.

The present invention relates to gloves intended for hard usage, such asthe protector gloves worn by linemen during electrical installations.Linemen usually wear rubber gloves to be protected from electricalshocks. These rubber gloves must in turn be protected from accidentaldamage and excessive wear because the slightest puncture in the glovemay prove fatal to the wearer. For this purpose linemen pull protectorgloves of sturdy material, such as leather or tough plastics over therubber gloves. Unless these protector gloves are properly constructed,however, they are clumsy in use and they bunch and form bulges,especially in their palm areas. These bulges may have an abrasive effectupon the rubber gloves underneath as the workman manipulates his hand.This does not only limit the useful lifetime of the rubber gloveseverely, but reintroduces the danger of electrical accident.

It is an object of my invention to provide a glove for hard use, whereinthe tendency of bulging and bunching of its palm area duringmanipulation of the Wearers fingers is greatly minimized.

Another object of the invention is to provide a glove, of the typereferred to, whose palm area adapts itself automatically to changes inthe width and conformation of the Wearers palm when the wearermanipulates his lingers.

More specifically it is an object of the invention to provide aprotector glove for use over the rubber gloves worn by linemen, whichdoes not only protect the rubber glove from tears and punctures, butkeeps abrasion of the rubber glove by the protector glove at a safeminimum.

These and other objects of the present invention will be apparent fromthe following description of the accompanying drawings which illustratea preferred embodiment thereof and wherein FIGURE l is a view of thepalm side of a glove constructed in accordance with my invention;

FIGURE 2 is a view of the inner surface of the palm trank of the gloveshown in FIGURE 1 in a stage of its production, i.e., as bands ofresilient material are secured to an area thereof;

FIGURE 3 is a view similar to FIGURE 2 showing the inner surface of thepalm trank after the bands of resilient material have been securedthereto; and

FIGURE 4 is a view of the back side of the completed glove.

In the exemplary embodiment of the invention illus- 3,484,869 PatentedDec. 23, 1969 ICC trated in the accompanying drawing the palm trank 10of the glove has parts 11, 12, 13 and 14 which form the palm areas ofthe finger stalls 15, 16, 17 and 18, respectively (FIGURES l, 2, and 4).In addition the palm trank has lateral extensions 20 and 21 (FIGURES 2,3 and 4) at either side, that reach from the bottom edge of the trank tothe tips of the stalls for the little and index lingers respectively. Inassembling the glove from its com- `ponent parts these extensions 20 and21 are folded backwardly to form the flanks and part of the back areaofthe glove, and the anks and the outer halves of the back areas of thestalls for the little and index fingers, respectively (FIGURE`4).Secured to the inner surface of the palm trank, i.e., the surfaceclosest to the wearers hand, in a region of said surface below thecrotches of the finger parts of the palm trank 10 and above the hole orexcision 24 for the thumb stall 25, are two relatively spaced parallelstrips 26 and 28 of elastic material, such as bands of fabric-coveredrubber. In contracted condition said bands are of a lesser length thanthe width of the trank 10, but when they are being secured to the trank,they are expanded until they extend across the palm area of the trankfrom edge to edge thereof, as shown in FIGURE 2. In this condition theyare stitched to the palm trank 10 along congruent zig-zag lines 30` and32, and after they have been securely attached to the palm trank of theglove in the manner shown in FIGURE 2 and are released, they contractand in the process convert the area of the trank between, and to alimited extent directly above and below said strips, into a row orsequence of vertically extending folds 33 of limited depth (FIGURES land 3).

In completing the glove a back trank .34 (FIGURE 4) is suitably securedto and between the edges of the backwardly folded lateral extensions 20and] 22 of the palm trank 10, and suitably constructed fourchettes 35,36, 37 are secured in the proper manner to the upper portions of theedges of said extensions, the upper edge of the back trank 34, the edgesof the finger parts of the palm trank and to each other, as the case maybe; and the thumb stall 25 is secured to the palm trank 10 around theexcision 24 thereof (FIGURES l and 4). When the glove of my invention isintended for use as a. linemans glove, its bottom edge is usuallyprovided with a cuff as shown at 38 in FIGURES l and 4 and the backtrank 34 may be provided with shirrings 40 in the conventional manner.When not in use, the palm side of the assembled glove has the appearanceshown in FIGURE l; but when the glove is slipped over the wearers hand,the bands 26 and 28 expand to an extent determined by the width of thewearers hand and in the process smooth out the folds 33 against thecontracting force of said bands to a greater or lesser degree. Wheneverthe conformation and width of the wearers palm changes, as hemanipulates his hand during work, the area of resiliently yifeldablefolds 33 across the palm trank of the glove adapts itself automaticallyto these changes and makes it practically impossible for large bulges toform, such as might abrade the wearers hand or an underlying rubberglove. A glove constructed in accordance with my invention is,therefore, ideally suited for use as a linemans protector glove.

While I have explained my invention with the aid of an exemplaryembodiment thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the artthat my invention is not limited to the specific constructional detailsshown and described by way of example, which may be departed fromwithout departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. A glove comprisinga palm trank having linger stalls and a thumbstall, and stitched to the inner surface of said palm trank alongcongruent zig-zag lines extending from lateral edge to lateral edge ofsaid trank relatively spaced bands of resiliently yieldable material,said bands being of lesser length when in relaxed position than thewidth of said palm trank so as to form a row of resiliently yieldablefolds extending substantially in a direction lengthwise of the glove.

4 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS MERVIN STEIN, Primary ExaminerGEORGE V. LARKIN, Assistant Examiner

